Turbine.



W. F. UHL.'

TUBBINB.

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922,21 6. Patented May 18, 1909.

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WI'I'NESSES; I ""WZM INVENTOR 6a 6. 713m W MM jhqjwomvn.

W. F. UHL.

TUBBINE.

nrLIouwn msn nu nv. 1907.

Patented May 18, 1909.

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M INVENTOR WITNESSES:

Br g, ATTORNEY.

Il (l WILLIAM FRANK UIIL, OI" MILWAUKEE,

WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR TO ALLIS-CIIALMERS COMPANY, OI" MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, A CORPORATION OI" NEW JERSEY.

TURB INE Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 18, 1909.

Application med May 27, 1907. Serial No. 375,786.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, Wintiaii FRANK Uni., 'a citizen of the United States, residin fat Milwaukee, in the county of lrlilwauiiee and State of Wisconsin, have invented a certain new and useful Turbine, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to hydraulic tur,- bines and is designed to provide a construction of turbine especially adapted for use with water under high heads, though not necessarily restricted to use with high heads, and the invention relates to the controlling and guiding mechanism for the water.

Prior to this invention two general schemes were employed for utilizin, the energy oi water in motion,-one sc 1eme employed well known forms of turbines, these turbines being suitable for use with comparatively low heads, not exceeding say forty to sixty feet, a pit or penstock being provided within which the turbine mechanism was placed, or the water was conducted to the turbine by means of a pipe and casing. 'lhe other scheme involved the use of so-called impulse or ini iulse and reaction wheels, the water being ed to the vicinity of the wheel through a penstock orpipe line and discharged through a nozzle against buckets carried by the whccl. lach scheine has its own special advantages and in actual construction and operation of water power plants that scheme was adopted which best fulfilled thc requirements dcmanded by the particular' location of the plant.

This invention relates to the type of water wheels generally designated as turbines and adapts such turbines for use with heads of water varying fioiii the lowest head available for such wheels to the highest heads available for thc so-called im ulsc wheels.

In all water wheel and turlfiinc structures prior to this invention a system of guides and water controlling gates, or a. system of water controlling gates which also served as guides, was ein loyed, the individual gates of the system eing provided with common actuating mechanism and either the whole or a part of this mechanism was located inside of the easing of the turbine and exposed to the water therein impeding its flow and causinir w1iirls,\eddies and other disturbances whie i prevented the proper delivery of the water to the wheel and diminished thefifliciency of the turbine. Such structures become iini l r practicable when the head of water under which the turbine must operate becomes great, and this invention luis overcome the defects ol prior turbines by providing a sti ucture in which the gates only are exposed to the water, the operating mechanism being located outside of the casing and outside ol the water spaces thereof.

Referring to the drawings which accompany this specification and foi-m a part .i

thereof and on which the same rcfcrcnce characters are used to designate thc same elements in each ol' the several figures, and which drawings illustrate an embodiment of this inveritiera-Figure 1 is a vertical axial section of a turbine. Fig. 2 is an cnd eleva tion of a turbine. Fig. 5 is a vertical scction taken on the line` a--a ol' Fig. l. Fig. 4 is a fragmentary section illustrating a modification.

.llefcrring to the drawings, the numeral 1 designates a snail casing of a turbine which is provided with the shaft 2, with the runner 3 secured thereon, said shaft being extended out. of thc easing and supported by tho bearings 4 and 5. The numeral 6 designates the penstock or pipe line, and the numeral 7 the draft tube, all of which parts may be of any usual or preferred construction. lhe snail shell casing is irovided with two chambers, to one of wliic i, S, the water is ordinarily admitted at all times, while the other chamber, tl, contains the wheel or ruimer to which water is only admitted when it is desired that the turbine shall operate.

ln the specific embodiment of the invention illustrated, a clear passageway or exit is provided around the interior of thc ringlike chamber S, through which the water is freely discharged except as controlled or interrupted by thc combined guides and gates 1t). .lhich of these gates 101s so shaped that in conjunction with the adjacent gates on either side of it the water will be properly guided to act upon the runner of the turbine and they are also so tunistructcd that adjacent gates can contact so as to prevent water issuing from the chamber 8 into the runner of the turbine. 'Ihe outer periphery of each gate is continuous and comprises solely a working surface whereby no obstruction is encountered to produce cddies and consequently u hi rh efficiency is attainable. As clearly s iown iy Fig. 1 of the drawings, each of these gates fits closely within the exit llU lll'

11 from chamber S, and each gate is provided with a spindle or axle 12, preferably formed integral therewith and extended from both sides thereof, which spindle is adapted to be received within suitable bushings 13 and 14, or to be supported in any equivalent way, by which they are retained in their proper position and water is prevented from passing out from the easing thereby.

To an end of each spindle which projects through the casing is secured a lever or crank 15, and each of these cranks is connected by links 16 to an actuating ring 17, which is adapted to be rotated by the links 1S and 1.) connected with the bell crank levers 2() and 2l, which in turn are for convenience, also connected by the link 22, any ordinary or suitable iiiealis being employed to actuate one or both of the shafts 235 and 24 to which the bell crank levers 2U and 21 are scoured.

The spindle 12 shown by Fig. 1 of the drawings is extended at each ciid through the casing, this structure being adopted for the reason that tallow can be forced by the grease cups 25 and .Zt through holes in the s )indie to lubricate the bearings of the spiniflc in the bushings. this construction being essential wliei'e the turbine is intended to be worked under very high heads.

'llic spindle 1*.0 in the modilimition shown by Fig. 4 is extended through only one side of the casing and is seated in a recess 121 on the opposite side of the casing, a di'ip aperture 122 being provided to afford an exit for any water which might leak by the spindle and into the recess 121, in order that no end pressure may be exerted against said spindle 120.

lt will be seen that the structure disclosed by this spia-ilication and the drawings accompanying the same is very simple and very ellicient and that the only parts of the water-controlling apparatus which is exposed to the water or which is located in the pntli of llow of the water ai'c the guides or gates ll).

ln the operation of the turbine more` oi' less water will nccuniulate in the chamber .1 by leakage. past the circumference of the l wheel or runner, and if this water were allowed to accumulate it would completati* lill said chamber and would exert a pressure against the side of the runner awa) l'roni the diaft tube, unich would tend to force the runner toward said draft. tube according to the size ol' the turbine. and the amount of head.

llerctofore it has been common to provide drainage means for the chamber 9 by which the water accumulating in said chamber might flow out therefrom and the drawings illustrate such drainage means, viz., the pipe 30 provided with the controlling gate 31,

said )ipe for convenience being tapped into the (ii-aft tube, whereby an wat-er accumulating in chamber 9 1na1 i'ow out into the draft tube, and whereby the diminished pressure on the front or draft tube side of the runner may be utilized in said chamber 9.

The numeral 3. designates a pipe provided with a gate 33, said pipe being also in conimiiiiication with chamber 9 and with a supply of water under pressure, as for example, with the water in the penstock or pipeline (3. Bynieans of this pipe, the pressure due to the head of the water may be utilized in chamber 9 to overcome or oppose an end thrust upon the shaft 2, and by proper adjustment of the two gates 33 and 31 the watei from the penstock may be utilized to exert any required pressure within chamber 9 to oppose end thrust on the shaft that may be desirable, the limits of power available varying from that due to the maximum head of the water to that due to the. greatest diminution of pressure resulting from the action of the draft tube.

'Ilie numeral 3-1 designates an ordinary thrust collar adapted to engage with thrust bearing 35 to positivel)Y position the shaft and runner and to care for any slight excess of thrust in either direction.

lf water be present in chamber $1, owing to the high velocity of the rotating runner, it will be thrown outward by centrifugal force and will create a pressure due to its centrifugal force at the circumference of the runner. ln order to avoid an such occurrence, the casing is provided within the chamber .1 with radially disposed partition plates 4l) which extend closely adjacent to the rear side of the runner, and these plates may be connected by ribs 41 to strengthen them. 'lhese partitions 4U oppose the water which is set into motion by the runner and prevent its acquiring any considerable velocity and generating centrifugal force.

ln a turbine, the combination of a casing having two chambers connected by an annular passage having continuous plane sides, a wheel in one of the chambers having its passage aliiiing with said annular passage, and a gate in said annular passage. having a spindle entering ports in the sides of said annular passage one of the ends of said spindle extending through said easing for operating said gate and t ie outer periphery o said gate being continuous and comprising solely the workiiur surface.

.ln testimony w iereof, I allix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

W ILLIAM .FRAN 1i UHL.

Witnesses:

G. l". DE WsiN, Famx E. BENNETT.

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